Hi Buddy Ransomware

The entrance of Hi Buddy Ransomware means that users will not be able to access their files again. Yes, you have understood correctly – this ransomware infection encrypts all the files immediately after it enters the system. Of course, there is an explanation why it does that. Specialists working at pcthreat.com say that Hi Buddy Ransomware does all those activities with only one purpose in mind – it seeks to extort money from users. We do not think that it is a very good idea to transfer money to cyber criminals, so you should not do that even if it seems that it is the only way to decrypt files and gain access to them again. Do not forget that it is a must to remove Hi Buddy Ransomware too if you do not wish to notice that all your new files are encrypted again.

Hi Buddy Ransomware is not a simple ransomware infection that encrypts files and changes the wallpaper. Researchers have noticed that this threat is capable of blocking browsers (Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and EDGE) and executable files, and it can start with Windows, which means that it will not disappear anywhere after the system restart. On top of that, this infection can also connect to the Internet without permission. Generally speaking, it will be impossible to use the computer freely unless you remove Hi Buddy Ransomware because it will not allow you to do that.

Unfortunately, this threat will not only block browsers and main programs, but will also put a message on the screen after the encryption of pictures, documents, and other files with these extensions: .mp3, .js, .txt, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, .odt, .jpg, .png, .csv, .sql, .mdb, .sln, .php, .asp, .aspx, .html, .xml, .psd, and .pdf. The main purpose of this message is to inform users what has happened to their files and what they can do to decrypt them:

Hello Buddy! if you see this message all your important files are been crypted :)

What can you do? You can pay with bitcoin and wait 10 min for decryption! It’s very easy!

Users also find active buttons on this message: What are bitcoins?, How can I buy bitcoins?, Search google, Buy on Localbitcoin, and Buy on bitboat. As can be seen, the threat seeks to inform users and convince them to pay money for the decryption tool.

If you see the message on your screen, you probably know that you have to pay 0.40347888 Bitcoin to cyber criminals. Unfortunately, there is no other free way to download a decryption tool at the time of writing. Do not worry; you can transfer files from a backup to your PC easily and quickly after you eliminate this ransomware infection. Of course, you cannot do much about that if you do not have a copy of your files stored on the external hard drive, USB flash drive, etc. Keep in mind that you might not gain access to your files even if you pay money, so you should decide carefully whether you really want to do that.

There are so many ransomware infections that use the AES encryption available on the web these days. All these threats are distributed the same, so it is possible to block their way. Research carried out by the specialists at pcthreat.com has shown that users tend to download ransomware together with other untrustworthy programs from corrupted third-party web pages. In addition, it is known that such a threat might sneak onto the computer if a user clicks on a wrong link and does not have a security tool installed (or it is outdated and/or unreliable). Last but not least, a ransomware infection might enter the system if a user opens an infectious email attachment. To prevent ransomware and a bunch of other threats from slithering onto your computer in the future, you should install a security tool on your PC and always keep it there. A security tool must be 100% reliable!

We are sure that it will not be easy to remove Hi Buddy Ransomware, but you still have to do that if you are not going to pay a ransom. As you already know, Hi Buddy Ransomware blocks programs, browsers, and adds a message, so you will not be able to access your Desktop. The only thing that you can do is to start PC in Safe Mode with Networking and erase the files of this ransomware manually or download the SpyHunter antimalware tool and then perform the system scan. If you are a less experienced user, we suggest that you delete this infection in an automatic way.

Delete Hi Buddy Ransomware

Start Windows in Safe Mode with Networking

Windows XP

Reboot your PC.

Start tapping F8 before Windows OS loads up.

Select Safe Mode with Networking using the arrow keys from the menu.

Tap Enter.

Click Yes.

Windows 7 and Vista

Restart your computer.

Start tapping F8 when BIOS screen loads up.

Select Safe Mode with Networking from the menu and tap Enter.

Windows 8/8.1

Access the Metro UI menu.

Locate the Power button and click on it.

Press and hold down the Shift key and select Restart.

Go to Troubleshoot and select Advanced options.

Click Startup Settings and click Restart.

Tap F5.

Windows 10

Open the Start menu and click on the Power button.

Press and hold down the Shift key and click Restart.

Select Troubleshoot and go to Advanced options.

Click Startup Settings.

Click Restart and then tap F5 on your keyboard.

Delete the files of the ransomware infection

Find suspicious files in the following directories: %USERPROFILE%\downloads, %APPDATA%, %TEMP%.

Remove those files and empty the Recycle bin.

Restart PC.

If ransomware is still there, start Windows in Safe Mode with Networking again, open your browser, download SpyHunter from http://www.pcthreat.com/download-sph , and scan your system with it.